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Is Michael Bennett The “Value” Pick?

The Bucs are buying a defensive end this month because they’re not buying Da’Quan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn are above-average starters.

That undeniable.

The sad thing here is the Bucs are desperate and must move fast.

Lovie Smith isn’t going to risk going into the season without a front-line pass rusher. He’s made that clear.

Because of Michael Bennett’s age, 28, versatility rushing inside and outside, and being a left-side pass rusher, Joe thinks Bennett is likely a smarter choice than Jared Allen, 32.

Bennett is a left end. That’s his preferred side. He’s told Joe that directly, during his Buccaneer days and at Super Bowl media day in January. Allen plays the right side.

It’s Bennett’s left-side play that also helps make him more intriguing. Nearly all the top pass rushers in the NFL Draft rush from the right side. With Bennett, versus Allen, the Bucs would still have an opportunity to draft nearly any impact pass rusher and get him on the field a lot. Bennett’s rushing ability inside on passing downs also creates more options for Gerald McCoy, and it can free up the left end for a guy like William Gholston or someone else for specialist duty. Then there’s Lovie’s old friend Julius Peppers, who may be cut from the Bears soon and sit on the market for a while, much like John Abraham did last year. Abraham signed with Arizona in July and had 11.5 sacks. Peppers lines up on the right side.

Joe, of course, doesn’t know anyone’s salary demands or private desires, but Bennett may very well by the “value” pick general manager Jason Licht says he covets. The problem is Bennett sure seems like he wants to be wined and dined and find the highest bidder. After all, he’s got a fresh Super Bowl ring, and that can take the play-for-a-winner motivation away from a lot guys temporarily.

Joe suspects the Bucs won’t want to wait for Bennett to make a decision, if they have another viable option (Allen?) on the table. Of course, the Bucs could always sign two premier defensive ends and draft offense, which would be an absolutely stunning series of events.

Bennett is on record as saying he will not give the Seahawks a hometown discount, but the truth of the matter is Seattle’s defense may have made him look better than he really is.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Bennett’s 1.4 disrupted dropback percentage (a statistic that gauges how often a defender notches a sack, interception, pass defensed or batted ball) ranked tied for 32nd among defensive linemen with 500 or more snaps played. This is not an anomaly for Bennett, as he posted disrupted dropback rates of 1.5 percent, 0.8 percent and 0.2 percent in the 2012, 2011 and 2010 seasons, respectively.

These numbers strongly suggest Bennett isn’t quite the impact player his reputation suggests.

Not odd, just unfortunate for him. Seahawks are loaded on defense and will likely designate their funds to someone else. Before that, Schiano was an idiot. I mean,I’m sure he still is, but regarding the Bennett situation.

what about CLayborn moving to LDE. Does anyone think he can do it. I understand why some people are down on him but he did look better towards the end of last season after his injury in 2012 and was extremely misused by Schiano and Company last season. I think Clayborn can be that 10 sack guy if used properly, however I still want to bring in a proven sack artist along with some other depth along the dline wheather it be DT or DE.

If Joe had it his way we would always be mired in fourth place in our division. For someone who is always advocating change, Joe sure has a hard time changing.

If we get or keep all 3 of Joes red flag endorsements, and they suck. Joe will probably go incognito. ..or have a ton of excuses. Joe may have all the knowledge on how to manage a NFL Team blog website but he don’t know crap on how to recognize talent and goes into denial when decisions need to be made on some of his favorite players that are in major decline.

Personally, I don’t know how Joe can even look Glennon in the eye after this summer long unabashed Glennon bashing. Unless Joe takes Glennon for granted and knows him to be a standup guy, If I were Joe I would avoid him, or I would at least remain at arms length.

If Joe had it his way we would always be mired in fourth place in our division.

If Joe his way he never would have drafted Rip Van Freeman in the first place (check Joe’s archives) which is why the Bucs are mired in fourth place in the division. Joe predicted drafting Freeman would set the team back five years. Again, the archives don’t lie.

If Joe his way he never would have drafted Rip Van Freeman in the first place (check Joe’s archives) which is why the Bucs are mired in fourth place in the division. Joe predicted drafting Freeman would set the team back five years. Again, the archives don’t lie.

Joe was still calling Josh the franchise QB the week he was benched. He was also saying Josh should start the entire year at that time. It’s in the archives.

I agree with you AJ, I think the Bucs should definitely add a veteran DE who has and still is capable of getting 10+ sacks as well as a defensive tackle. However I believe CLAYBORN will greatly improve on his first 3 seasons if given the shot this season. Also feel Gholston is really going to bust out just get a good vibe from the kid.

Funny because there are players like willie young and everson griffen out there who people want but CLAYBORN is better than either one. When used properly with Raheem Morris coaching he was a beast his rookie year. Then got injured and was used weogh and still had 6.5 sacks.

But somehow M.Bennett is leap years ahead of Clayborn according to Joe. Joe will remind you that Bennett lead Seattle’s defense with (8.5) sacks …ooohh, and that he is leagues ahead of Clayborn with his measly …what? (6).

So if we go by Joe’s logic, we should bring Bennett back and pay him boatloads of cash (Cause that’s what he says he wants) because he had 2.5 more sacks than Clayborn. This does not compute.

Bennett was released by Seattle after not making the team a few years ago, picked up off the street by the Buccaneers, had a few good games but was not re-signed, picked up by his original team (Seahawks), had a decent year as a contributor on a great defense and is once again without a team. Is there something we’re not seeing?